it's a book that doesn't preach any religion. i think that the notion of finding the value in different religious traditions really, really resonates with them because they're not close minded, they're curious. at the same time we've also talked about not simply accepting everything, that pi doesn't have a kind of touchy feely kind of faith. and he understands that there are kernels of truth, and the same kernel of truth, in all of these belief systems. >> reporter: from noah and the ark to the garden of eden, bible stories echo through the life of pi. the name of the ship, tsimtsum, comes from the jewish mystical teaching that god contracted to make room for creation. and then there's the tiger, a god-like figure whose very presence keeps pi alive. >> i see the tiger as a transcendent being because he's so powerful, because he's so beautiful, because he's, he's so incomprehensible, unfathomable, and has life and death in his power, in his paws. >> reporter: as an adult, pi meets with a writer, who's heard that his story "will ma